TRAINING PROGRAM
Learn all about SEI’s training.
The SEI Student Support Portal is your one stop online resource to find the answers to the most common questions about our training program and the overall SEI Student experience. Here you will find resources, including certification information, our training program structure, tuition and scholarship information, and other commonly asked questions. If you have questions that are not found here in the SEI Student Support Portal or would like to speak with a Student Services Counselor, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email or phone.
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About SEI
Training Program
What order do I take the Courses in?
Do you offer anything other than PV Solar Electric Training?
Do you offer training in other languages?
What order do I take the Courses in?
I already have experience, can I skip a course?
What is the difference between Online and In-person?
How do I know the difference between Online, Lab and In-person Courses?
Are there instructors in Online Courses?
Do I have to be online at a certain time?
Why are there specific start dates for online courses?
How can an online course fill up?
What happens after I register for an online course?
Tuition Payment Options
NABCEP Certification & Solar Careers
Training Locations
Partnerships & Curriculum Licensing
Where should I start?
At Solar Energy International (SEI) we offer many courses in solar (PV) technology, beginning with an introductory course, PVOL101 – Solar Electric Design and Installation (Grid Direct). Once this course is complete students can take any 200 level course. More Info…
Where should I start?
We offer courses both online and in-person. Hands-on lab classes must be taken in-person, while theory-based courses can be done either online or in-person depending on availability and scheduling options. In-person classes/labs are 5 days each and online classes are 6 weeks each in length.
Our courses can be completed individually and there are no requirements to complete a certain number of courses unless you are completing a certificate through our Solar Professionals Certificate Program or preparing to sit for a NABCEP exam. The time it takes to complete any certificate training track(s) will depend on if a student takes mostly online classes or all in-person. In general, it can take 4 months – 10 months to finish a full certificate program track.
If you are not ready to commit to an entire training program, we recommend starting out with just one course. To learn more about the general topic of renewable energy, as well as what we do at Solar Energy International (SEI), you can get started with our free online course, RE100 Introduction to Renewable Energy. RE100 is a free course that covers the basics of renewable energy, and is a great introduction for those new to the field, those who are looking to make a career change, or those who just want to learn more about energy from the sun, wind, and water, energy efficiency, and the basics of electricity. This course is non technical and is developed for the general public level, and it will help familiarize and introduce you to our online campus and to what we do here at SEI.
What order do I take the Courses in?
For Solar Electric (PV), you’ll want to start out with PVOL101 Online OR PV101 in person. There are no prerequisites to take our 101 course, however the free online RE100 course is highly recommended. After your 101 is successfully completed you can attend any 200 level course, either online or an in person classroom based, or the PV201L Grid Direct Lab Week. To take our 300 level Battery courses (either PV301L, PVOL303 or PVOL304) you must first complete our 200 Level Battery course, the PVOL203 (or PV203) course.
How do I sign up?
To register for training visit our online training schedule, scroll down to the session you would like to begin with, click on it and then choose register now – follow the checkout instructions. If you prefer to register by phone you can always call us at 970-527-7657 OPTION 1. More Info…
How do I sign up?
Take note of any prerequisites that must be taken before signing up. To determine the prerequisite for each course, visit the Are there prerequisites? section or on each course page check under the “helpful information” tab.
Also, there are different sides of the shopping cart, one for billing info (name and address from the credit card) and one side for shipping and student info (student name and email address, and address to ship any course materials to). Remember you will likely be starting with the PVOL101 or PV101 course.
Do you offer anything other than PV Solar Electric Training?
Yes, we also have other renewable energy training. More Info…
Do you offer anything other than PV Solar Electric Training?
Other training includes:
- MH101: Micro-Hydro Training – Micro-Hydro Design & Installation: offered once a year in person at our campus in Paonia, Colorado.
- SHOL101: Solar Thermal Training – Solar Hot Water Design and Installation – Online: offered on demand online only throughout the year.
- RDOL101: Appropriate Technology for the Developing World – Online: offered on demand online only throughout the year for those interested in international development, humanitarian work, or helping others with renewable energy internationally.
- PV110: Solar Training – Solar Water Pumping: offered once a year in person at our campus in Paonia, Colorado.
Do you offer training in other languages?
Yes, we also offer our PV curriculum in Spanish. Feel free to contact our Programa Hispano Counselors at [email protected] or call 970-527-7657 option 8.
Are there prerequisites?
Each courses online description will have a list of any prerequisites for that course under it. More Info…
Are there prerequisites?
Select the course you are interested in from our training schedule. Under the HELPFUL INFORMATION section, you will see a list of any prerequisites for that class, as seen below.
I already have experience, can I skip a course?
There are rare situations where a student can skip their first course with SEI. We offer the option to skip, or opt out of, our PV101 course if you have taken similar training with another training organization, or you have extensive field experience. Your SEI Student Services Counselor can provide access to an ‘Opt Out Quiz’ that you can access and complete online to demonstrate your prior knowledge, and to see if the higher level courses are a good fit for you. More Info…
I already have experience, can I skip a course?
Solar Energy International’s PV training courses are structured to serve a range of students that come from diverse backgrounds. While our PVOL101 Solar Electric Design and Installation (Grid-Direct) is classified as “entry level,” it is not simply a basic introduction to PV technology. It is a technically challenging training course that addresses the fundamentals of PV system design, including system and wire sizing, component specification, commissioning and safety, and other tricks of the trade, all of which are critical to the success of a PV system designer/installer. There are, however, rare situations where the student can skip this first course with SEI. We offer this option to skip, or opt out of, our PV101 if you have taken similar training with another training organization, or you have extensive field experience. Your SEI Student Services Counselor can provide access to an ‘Opt Out Quiz’ that you can access and complete online to demonstrate your prior knowledge, and to see if the 200 level courses are a good fit for you. The Opt out Quiz also gives you an idea of what we expect you to already know if you are skipping our 101 course in order to start out with a 200 level course. If you have outside training or field experience and would like to register for a 300 level advanced battery course without the PV203 prerequisite, or for PV351L or PVOL350 based on previous experience or non-SEI training, we can provide an opt out quiz for these as well.
What is the difference between Online and In-person?
SEI occasionally offers in-person theory courses. SEI’s online and in-person theory courses present the same curriculum, however the online courses take 6 weeks and are worth 40 to 60 contact training hours, while the in person sessions are one week long and worth 40 contact training hours.
How do I know the difference between Online, Lab and In-person Courses?
Any course code with an ‘OL’ in it stands for online. For example, you will start with either PVOL101, which is our first 101 Solar Electric Design and Installation course online, OR PV101 is the classroom based, in person counterpart that you can opt to take instead. The online courses are offered more often than the classroom based theory courses. Any course code ending in an ‘L” stands for a Hands on Lab Week such at PV201L Grid Direct Lab Week.
Are there instructors in Online Courses?
Yes, the online courses do have live instructors to answer questions posted on the discussion board or by email. The live instructors grade your work and give you feedback, making these courses highly interactive.
Do I have to be online at a certain time?
No, there is not a specific time that you need to sign in. You can work on the course at any time, day or night, weekend or weekday, as long as you complete the graded materials with a passing grade of 70% or more by the end date of the 6 week course. More Info…
Do I have to be online at a certain time?
The online courses take the average student 10- 14 hours a week, some more and some less depending on your background and how in depth you go with the supplemental materials. The first online course, PVOL101, includes the Solar Electric Handbook eBook. This eBook, along with online materials, such as video presentations, readings, assignments, discussion boards, quizzes and activities make up the components of the online course.
You are able to save the online presentations and Digital course notebooks to your computer for reference after the course has ended. You will get two additional weeks after any 6 week online course ends to access, save and view materials and print your Record of Completion for the course. However, you may not submit graded materials during this 2 week review time.
Why are there specific start dates for online courses?
There are specific start and end dates for the online sessions because there are live instructors contracted to be there to assist you, teach and grade your work during the course dates.
How can an online course fill up?
We have a maximum student cap per session to make sure that the instructors are able to respond to your questions and grade your work in a timely fashion.
What happens after I register for an online course?
Once you register for an online course, you will receive an email confirmation and enrollment agreement by email, with details about the course. One to two days prior to the actual course start date, you will receive your log in information by email, including your username and password. More Info…
What happens after I register for an online course?
You can register up until the start of a course (and sometimes even a few days after the start date), if there is still availability in the course. However, we recommend that you sign up early to guarantee your space.
What sets apart the SEI Online training experience from other training providers, is the quality of the curriculum and instructors, as well as the interaction that happens between instructors and students during the training. For more information about our online learning platform, please view this additional informational Online Learning Platform video.